This site focuses on Republican politicians and conservatives that rip off their constituency. We have the Tea Party, fundamentalist churches, the corruption of ALEC and other special interests groups. But the site also supports progressive Democrats and the local Democratic Socialist of America. We must have ideas on how to replace regressive and corrupt politicians with something better. For comments ottozero2001@yahoo.com.

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

The curse of urban sprawl: how cities grow, and why this has to change

The total area covered by the world’s cities is
set to triple in the next 40 years – eating up farmland and threatening the
planet’s sustainability. Ahead of the latest Urban
Age conference, Mark Swilling says it is
time to stop the sprawl

I
have just spent two days in Barcelona, one of the most densely
populated urban settlements in the world. There are 103
road intersections per sq km – high compared to Brasilia’s 41
or Shanghai’s Pudong area, which has only 17. Yet despite these high densities,
residents of Barcelona will tell you how profoundly liveable their city is.

Visitors are charmed by the pedestrianised
streets that thread their way through a maze of buildings constructed over the
centuries – between four and seven storeys high, on narrow streets leading to
piazzas where people sit at cafe tables or under shady trees. Many residents
walk or cycle to work, and public transport functions very well.

Overall, however, our current urban
population of around 3.9 billion is expected to grow to around 6.34 billion by
2050, out of a total global population of at least 9.5 billion. If we continue to design
and build as if the planet can provide unlimited resources, then this
near-doubling of the urban population will mean a doubling of the natural
resources required to build and operate our cities – which is not sustainable.

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SJ Otto

Works at Otto's Book Store, Attended Wichita State University, Lives in Maize, KS. "I’m an author, blog writer and blog editor." This is now a part of a blog collective. We appeal to several different interests, cultural, political and personal.

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